Miller got the idea to start a winery while working as a computer networking consultant with his partner in Napa Valley for 15 years – where many of his clients were in the wine business. He saw an ad for a vineyard for sale in Willamette Valley in 2002, and decided the time was right. Masciorini signed on, investing in the vineyard as well. At the time, Miller’s wife Sonia and he were raising two 3-year-old twins, Sara and Nathaniel, and he was ready for a change.
“I love everything about the wine business,” Miller said. “My computer business was high stress and long hours away from my family and no one was happy to see me when I came because they knew it was going to cost them money. Now everyone who comes here is on vacation and happy to see me.”
Miller has more time for yoga practice now, and the vineyard has even sponsored a four-week yoga series that involved 90 minutes of yoga, starting at 9 a.m., followed by a breakfast of local products and a complimentary wine tasting. Yoga mats with the Namaste logo on it were available for purchase. The series was a hit locally, though Miller didn’t have the opportunity to go to it himself, since the wine festival season was in full swing.
Namaste Vineyards has been awarded a slew of medals and recognitions both in Oregon and in national festivals, but Miller said he and his partner wondered if they had made the right move the first year. They’d bought the vineyard with the plan of selling the grapes and learning winemaking as they went along. Instead, the Oregon vineyards had produced a “glut” of grapes that year, and they were forced to learn the business quickly to make use of their first crop. Their first wines were produced at a nearby winery with their supervision.
“The first couple of years we made a lot of mistakes and learned a lot of lessons,” Miller said. “Our first year we only made 600 cases of wine. It wound up being a blessing, and I think that’s what needed to happen.”
Namaste Vineyards grows 200 acres of Chardonnay, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and two different clones of Pinot Noir – Dijon 115 and Pommard – used for two different labels. All Namaste wines are made with estate grown fruit only, with labor-intensive methods. Miller said though they have only produced their own wine for seven years, the vines date back to 1980-83.
Miller said he thinks their Pinot Noir wines are their best vintages, and Namaste was named as one of the top 30 Pinot Noir producers in Oregon (which has more than 250 vineyards) by an Oregon wine rating group in 2004.
“We were the only vineyard nobody knew,” Miller said.
Their 2007 Prosperity Pinot Noir, retail priced at $34 a bottle, is one of their recognized vintages, but they’re actually better known nationally for their white wines. Their “Peace” wine, a blend of Chardonnay and Gewurztraminer, has won numerous top awards at festivals. The white blend, in the tradition of the Meritage and Zinfandel blends that have become so popular, is unlike anything else on the market right now.
“There’s just 3% residual sugar, so its crisp and unique, and doesn’t taste like either grape,” Miller said. “We press all of the fruit together at harvest, which is unusual, instead of doing them separately and blending later. It’s a great summer wine.”
When Miller isn’t working behind the scenes on marketing or overseeing the grape production, he spends time raising alpacas. Right now he has 26 of the woolly animals, which are bred for sale and sheared for their “fiber.” The twins, now 10, like to help care for the alpaca, but aren’t much interested in the wine business.
Miller’s wife, Sonia, is involved in the business, as well as operating her own counseling and life coaching business. Last year, she self published a book called “The Attraction Distraction,” which has consistently sold well on Amazon.com. Their philosophical views are reflected in their wine labels, which include, “Prosperity,” “Abundance,” “Peace,” and their popular “Tranquility” Riesling.
“The name definitely attracts a lot of yoga people to us,” Miller said. “When they come to tastings and try the wine, they say they’re glad that it’s good, but they would have bought it just for the name. I’m glad because I just want people to enjoy the beauty of the vineyard and the wine.”  |
